Searching for a Friend
by Blazeingheroine
Summary: Hilda has a different reason for going on a journey. She had no interest in collecting badges or filling her Dex. However, the police weren't doing anything and her friends were in danger. Plasma has no right to take away family.
1. Chapter 1

"Be careful, Hilda!" A young woman yelled. "Don't forget to be back in an hour!"

"I always am!" The eight year-old called back.

Hilda ran passed the quiet house, giggling. Her town was like ghost town during the day. All the grown-ups were at work and most of the children were at school. Hilda was homeschooled because that was what her parents wanted. She never thought to ask why. As long as she was allowed to visit the forest during recess, she didn't care. Her mother was against her going, but the wild Pokémon were friendly and her father said it was good for her.

"Pup!"

Hilda looked down and laughed. Two Lillipups were running besides her. Their names were Ruff and Tuff. Hilda always gave her Pokémon friends names because it sounded weird calling them their species name, at least to her. Sometimes Watson, a Purloin, would join the group but he was probably taking a nap somewhere.

"Watchog!"

Hilda looked up and found the source of the voice. Two Watchogs were watching her from a fat tree. There was a wide, hollow hole in the center, overflowing with leaves and sticks.

"You moved again," Hilda said slowly, "That must mean…"

She shot one of the Watchog's a questioning look. He nodded and hopped on a nearby branch. She hoisted herself up to the hole and grinned. Inside were three eggs, all of them shaking. Her mother told her that meant they were going to hatch soon.

"You're going to be a mother soon, Rosie!" She said to the other Watchog.

Rosie gave her a prideful, but tired look. Hilda reached into her bag and brought out two bags. One of them was her lunch, but the other was filled with various Pokémon foods.

"I told Father you guys were going to have kids. He came back yesterday with all of this," Hilda said happily, "This should make things a little easier, especially since not many berries grow around here."

Mister, the male Watchog, examined the bag while Hilda sat down to eat. She watched the two Lillipups playing in the long grass, using Tackle on each other. They stopped to stare at her when she took out a Pecha Berry sandwich.

"Nope!" she stated, stuffing the rest of her food in her mouth.

()

After she finished her lunch, Hilda made her way back home. Her father would be home soon. If she was late, he wouldn't teach her Gym class. There was nothing wrong with her mother teaching it, but her father rarely had half or whole days off. When she reached the forest edge, she saw his tall, bulky outline.

"Father!" she yelled.

She ran up and jumped on his back. He laughed and spinned her around, causing her to giggle loudly. When she spot a green and black sphere on his waist, a mischievous shine appeared in her eyes. She made a swipe at it, pushing the button in the center during the process. The ball opened and bright light formed a two-headed beast. The two heads made eye contact and started to bite each other.

"Hey! Stop that!" her father yelled.

Hilda laughed and climbed off her father's back. She calmly walked up to the beast and petted his back. The heads stopped fighting and calmed down.

"You'll make an amazing Dragon Tamer when you become of age," her father said happily.

"I think I'll want to train more than dragon types, Father," Hilda said.

He gave her an approving nod and recalled the Zweilous. She quickly led her father inside, chatting about her day so far.

"So, what are you going to teach me today?" she asked, excited.

"Well, since it has been awhile, why don't you do some basic warm-ups?" he said.

She gave him a goofy grin and started to do some push-ups. Her father had been teaching her how to fight when he taught gym. He would only do it because she promised only to fight if she or others were in danger and it was the only option.

"Do I have to do curl-ups too?" she asked.

"What do you think?" he replied, chuckling.

Hilda hated curl-ups.

()

"Whew. Your parents take forever to get to bed," Hilda sighed.

Her friend gave nervous chuckle and her other friend gave an annoyed sigh.

"So was there a reason you forced us to sneak out of our rooms in the middle of the night?" he asked.

"I want to show you something," she said, barely containing her excitement.

"You do know we need eight to ten hours of sleep, right?" he said.

"Oh, stop being a smarty pants!" Hilda said.

Even though he expressed his dislike for what they were doing, he followed them into the woods anyway. A guide walked behind Hilda, mainly to guide the two behind her. She remembered the path well enough to be able to walk at night. However, she had an extremely clumsy friend.

"Are you okay?" she called behind her.

"Yeah," Bianca said, brushing the dirt off her pjs, "I think I tripped over something fuzzy."

"That wasn't very nice, Wattson," Hilda said.

A sarcastic meow was heard from the treetops. Hilda rolled her eyes and took a sharp left. They had arrived. The three eggs, now violently jerking around, were on the forest floor. Rosie was sitting beside them.

"Stop! Hog!"

Mister was on the tree right behind them, his fangs glowing. Hilda stared into his intimidating, red eyes. She positioned her body in front of her two friends. Mister slowly loosed the energy in his fangs and made his way toward Rosie. The eggs had started to flicker, illuminating the grass around them. Hilda saw her friends eyes widen and smiled. They couldn't get any closer to the eggs. Not only would Mister not allow them, but also the newborns could mistake them as their parents. The eggs stopped moving. Silence fell over the woods as Hilda held her breath. A bright light exploded from the eggs, making her look down so she wouldn't get blinded. When the light finally died down, three Patrats sat where the eggs once were. Two of them started to bawl, most likely wanting food. The other one tried stand on two feet, but fell over.

"Awww! They're so cute!" Bianca quietly squealed.

"It's late," Cheren said, "We should get back."

Hilda stuck her tongue at him. They slowly made their way back to Nuvema Town, making quiet conversation.

"I haven't heard of many people witness an egg hatching in the wild," Cheren committed, "The parents would attack anyone near their eggs."

"Me and Rosie became friends after her trainer let her go," Hilda said quietly, "He wasn't very nice. His other Pokémon beat her up. As for Mister, I think he always lived in this forest. It took longer for him to trust me."

"That's so sad!" Bianca said a little too loudly.

A couple of Pidove made angry noises at Bianca. However, they quickly flew away after series loud noises rang through the air. To Hilda, they sounded like a book being slammed to the ground, only louder. She started to shake, but she wasn't quite sure why. Cheren didn't say anything smart for once.

"Th-h-hat came from home…" Bianca said shakily.

They broke out into a sprint. The trees and bushes turned into a blur, all Hilda could see was the path to get out of the forest. It felt like an eternity had passed when they stumbled out of the forest. The town was in an uproar. Strangers were appearing on flying Pokémon or just appearing out of thin air. Later, Cheren would tell her they were the police. She had never seen a police officer before. Bianca's father spotted them and yelled something. Cheren's parents ran over, embracing him in a hug. Bianca was swooped up by her father and carried to her house. Hilda, confused on where her parents were, made her way to her house. There was yellow tape surrounding it and even more strangers. She tried to sneak under the tape, but someone caught her.

"Now, Miss. You aren't allowed to go in there," the man said.

"Yes I am! This is my house!" Hilda yelled, "Let me go!"

"Your house?" he asked before whispering in collar, "I found her."

The man's grip loosened and Hilda slipped out, bolting to her house. But the front door was locked. She heard the man walking behind her.

"Mother, Father and Billy are locked inside!" she said, scared.

"Your mother is in a tent behind your house," a man in a brown coat said.

Hilda didn't like the man's tone. It sounded like he wasn't telling her something. He didn't mention her father or Billy. She spotted two people carrying something. It looked like a black, lumpy sleeping bag.

"Sir. We found this at the scene," another man said.

"Looks empty. Check his trainer card," the brown coat man said.

Hilda lunged at the other man. He had Billy's Poké-ball! She managed to swipe it and opened it but Billy didn't jump out.

"What did you do to Billy? Where's Father?" Hilda yelled.

"Hilda?"

Her mother was lying on a flat board carried by two people. Hilda ran over and asked what was going on. Her mother's eyes were wet with tears.

"We….won't be seeing your father anymore."


	2. Chapter 2: Destroying the Room

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! I ran into some issues with life. To answer a reviewer's question, there will be no heavy romance in this story. It's not something I do.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **()**

 _The man looked like he was speaking, but no words came out. No one was crying. Everyone had the same blank face. Hilda sat between Bianca and Cheren, the only two she recognized in the room except her mother. She looked down, avoiding the stares from the strangers. The man stopped talking, causing everyone to stand up. When Hilda stood up, both her friends grabbed her hands. She gave them a grateful glance. The group slowly made their way to the door, ignoring what the others were saying. They stopped in front of a large box, surrounded by pictures. Hilda's father seemed to always have a dragon-type by his side. She wondered why he didn't have any other types. The last one that caught her attention had Billy when he was still a Deino._

" _When I become a trainer, I'll go look for you, Billy. I'll bring you back to us," Hilda whispered._

 _She felt Cheren's grip tighten and Bianca's shake. Earlier, they overheard their parents talk about letting them go on journeys. All three of them were upset with Bianca's father statement of not letting them go. He even stated he wouldn't let Bianca leave town until she became of age. Hilda said no matter what, they would all start at the same time._

" _I'm sure you will."_

 _Hilda turned toward the voice, tears slowly forming. It was a man with dark, red hair. He softly patted her head with a sad smile._

()

Hilda lazily opened her eyes and yawned. She must have fallen asleep. It was early in the morning, or at least to her. Cheren probably woke up earlier to study for various things.

"What's keeping Bianca?" Cheren said, annoyed.

"Well, it is early," she said, "Maybe she slept in."

He narrowed his eyes and returned to staring at the wrapped box on the table. Hilda felt herself slip into the dreamworld again, until the door downstairs slammed open. She flinched and slowly stood up. Cheren gave her a confused look before Bianca made an appearance.

"I'm I a little late?" she asked.

"Seriously, Bianca?" Cheren said sternly, "I know you have no sense of time, but we're getting our first Pokémon today!"

"I know. Sorry," she said, looking down at her feet.

Hilda gave her an approving smile and opened the box she snagged while her friends were talking. The three agreed, more like Bianca and Hilda, to let the Pokémon choose their trainer. Hilda wanted to make sure the Pokémon were happy. Bianca agreed, but Cheren wanted to have the strongest Pokémon. The two outnumbered him though.

"Here we go!" Hilda yelled, tipping the box downward.

Three red and white spheres dropped to the floor, releasing the creatures from within. A green, snake-like Pokémon leered a Bianca, causing her to flinch. A small pig Pokémon gave a fearful look at its surroundings. The last Pokémon was a blue otter, who looked at the three with curiosity. Hilda gave the three Pokémon a huge smile. The green one turned away from her and looked at Cheren with interest. Bianca noticed the pig's uneasiness and picked him up in a hug. He seemed to enjoy it and snuggled up to her. Hilda got down on her knees to make eye contact with the last Pokémon.

"My name is Hilda," she said warmly, "Would you like to join me on a journey?"

"Osha!" the otter squealed, grabbing her hand.

"Well, I got the one I wanted," Cheren said smugly.

"Hilda!" Bianca shouted, "Let's have a battle!"

"You do realize we are in a house right?" Cheren said.

But Bianca's Pokémon was already in front of her, ready to fight. Hilda's was ready to battle also.

"Why not?" Hilda said with a smirk.

The girls called out the same move at the same time. The two Pokémon rushed at each other and lunged at each other. The force pushed them back towards their trainers.

"Tail Whip!" Hilda called to her Pokémon.

It started to shake its tail in a cute way. The pig watched it, almost hypnotized. Hilda sighed in relief. She wasn't sure what kind of moves her friend had, so she went off of what Mister told her.

"Tackle!"

The otter rammed into the pig with more forced than before. It flew into Hilda's table, breaking it in the process. He fainted in the heap of broken furniture.

"Woah! That was awesome!" Bianca said, picking up the fainted Pokémon, "Both sides did their best!"

"Is he okay?" Hilda asked, worried.

"Guys! Look around," Cheren sighed.

Hilda's room turned into a war zone. While not many attacks had been used, various other pieces of furniture had been broken.

"Oh no. Mom's going to kill me," Hilda moaned.

"You two are hopeless," Cheren said, handing them potions, "Use these to restore their health."

Bianca sprayed the liquid on her Pokémon, but he didn't wake up. She returned him to his pokeball. Hilda's Pokémon was reenergized and danced around her.

"You should battle Hilda too, Cheren!" Bianca laughed.

"Wha?" Hilda exclaimed.

"I guess I can't get the room any messier," Cheren said, pushing up his glasses, "You guys can't have all the fun!"

Hilda sighed and called her Pokémon to her. The two trainers and their Pokémon were facing each other.

"Begin!" Bianca shouted.

"Snivy! Use Leer!" Cheren commanded.

Snivy looked directly into her Pokémon's eyes and gave an evil look. It flinched and walked back a step. Snivy rammed into the Pokémon, causing it to crash into a wall.

"You okay?" she called and smiled when her Pokémon got back up, "Tackle!"

Her Pokémon rushed towards the Snivy, but he dodged the attack. Hilda's dresser exploded when the Pokémon crashed into it. She bit her lip and studied her opponent more closely. It couldn't have very good defense with the structure of its body. Cheren's Pokémon made its way to the dresser, where her Pokémon still stood, gazed.

"Meet him halfway!" Hilda cried.

Her Pokémon snapped out of its dazed state and met the snake head on. It barely overpowered the snake, causing both to fly backwards a short distance. The otter managed to land on its feet, while the snake stumbled a bit. Now was their chance!

"Tail Whip!" Hilda yelled.

Her Pokémon turned its back to the snake and shook its tail cutely. Cheren's Pokémon seemed interested in the tail's movements. Hilda gave her Pokémon the command to attack while the snake's defenses were down. It rammed into the Pokémon, causing it to crash into her TV. Hilda gritted her teeth. She had to end the battle before anything else got destroyed. One more hit would probably end it.

"Finish it!" she yelled, "Tackle!"

For the last time, her Pokémon slammed into the snake, knocking it out. Cheren's eyes widen in shock while Hilda face glowed with happiness. She scooped up her Pokémon in a hug.

"I must of made a strange blunder," Cheren hummed.

"Or you're just a sore loser," Hilda committed.

He shot her a disapproving look and left the room with the intent to apologize to her mother. Bianca hurried after him, almost tripping down the stairs. Hilda giggled at her friend antics and checked her Pokémon for any severe wounds. It seemed to be okay, so she looked under her bed, which was the most undamaged of the items in the room, excluding the Wii. Under the bed there were a couple of dirty clothes, some candy wrappers, and a long, thin box. Sighing in relief, she hugged her Pokémon again and walked downstairs. Her friends were making polite conversation with her mom.

"I'm very sorry about all the trouble, ma'am," Cheren said guiltily.

"We could help clean up," Bianca suggested quietly.

"Oh, don't worry about it," her mom said happily, "There you are, Hilda!"

Hilda smiled and joined the group. Her Pokémon gave a curious look at its surroundings, struggling to get out of her grasp. She put it on the ground and allowed it to explore the room.

"Well, I have go home to get something," Bianca said as she existed through the door.

Taken back by her sudden departure, Cheren didn't say anything for a moment. He sighed and followed, mostly liking heading to the lab. Hilda turned her gaze away from the door and watched her Pokémon struggle to climb a chair. The otter manage to pull itself up and stared at her mother.

"So, are you ready?" her mother asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she sighed happily, "I can't wait to see the world."

"Don't forget to call and visit every once in a while," her mother said.

Hilda picked her Pokémon up off the chair and made her way to the door. Her mother cleared her throat, causing Hilda to look at her, confused.

"Also, please don't get your hopes up," she said quietly.

Hilda's eyes narrowed and she turned away from her mother. The Pokémon in her arms gave her a confused squeak. She gave the otter a weak smile and opened the front door. A convenient gust of wind blew her hair in soft waves. Pushing the fears aside, she stepped outside.


	3. Chapter 3: Leaving

Nuvema was one of those towns where you knew everyone. It was quite hard not to since only twenty people, including Hilda and her friends, lived there. The only work you could get in town was at Professor Juniper's lab. Everyone else worked out of town. So basically, Hilda only walked a couple feet before she was at the lab. Cheren was blocking the door with an annoyed expression on his face.

"Hey, can you go find Bianca? I think she spaced out again," Cheren said bluntly.

"Sure! Be back in a bit!" She replied cheerfully.

Bianca's house was on the south end of town. Her Pokémon looked excited to be going to another house. However, an explosion of shouting erupted when they arrived at the front door. She felt her Pokémon flinch in her arms and she let out a sigh. Slamming the door open, she faced the storm. The people inside didn't noticed her.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING AND THAT'S FINAL!" The male in the room said.

"B-b-but I have a Pokémon now." Bianca said shaking, "I can totally go on an adventure."

The adult in the room looked like he was going retort before he noticed Hilda. Bianca had a look of relief on her face.

"Oh, there you are! Let's go!" She said grabbing Hilda's arm.

Hilda tightened her grip around her Pokémon with her free arm while Bianca dashed out the door. They were in front of Hilda's house before she stopped, struggling to hold her tears. Hilda handed her a crumpled up tissue from her pocket.

"I-I-I-I don't understand wh-h-hy he always acts like this," Bianca said before snorting into the tissue. "It's not fair!"

"Your pops thinks the world is a darker place than it really is," Hilda said calmly. "Once you make progress, I think he'll understand."

"I hope so," she replied.

When Bianca fully calmed down, the two girls met up with Cheren. He looked a bit miffed, but didn't ask why it took so long. The three let themselves into the lab. One of the lab assistants put down his work and led them to the back of the building. It was a bit more organized in the back of the lab. Professor Juniper was waiting with three packages in hand.

"So I see you finally choose your Pokémon!" The Professor exclaimed, "I was wondering what took you so long."

"We had a few complications," Cheren replied.

"Well, no matter. I can see that Hilda choose Oshawott. Why don't you two release your Pokémon," The Professor said.

Cheren and Bianca both let their Pokémon out. All of them, Oshawott had wiggled out of Hilda's arms before, dog piling the Professor. She laughed and hugged the starters.

"I can see that you already had your first battle!" Juniper exclaimed.

Oshawott smiled and gave a prideful look while Snivy gave an evil stare. The Professor smiled and started to explain some of the details of what they were able to do on their journey. Hilda was mildly interested until Cheren interrupted.

"So when do we get our Pokédexes?"

"I'm getting there, Cheren," she said, smiling.

The Professor handed them the packages. Inside of all of them was a rectangular electronic device with a poke-ball shape button. It turned itself on and asked if Hilda wanted to name her Oshawott.

"I don't see the point of a name," Cheren said.

"Hmmmm…" Bianca hummed, scrunching up her face.

Hilda read the details that the Pokédex gave her. Her Oshawott was a female and had Torrent for an ability. She wasn't quite sure what that ability did, but didn't let it bother her. Naming her Oshawott was her first priority. An old story that her father told her popped in head.

"Nepta?" Hilda asked her Pokémon.

"What kind of name it that?" Cheren criticized.

"Shortened name of an old sea god," she replied.

The Oshawott gave her a thoughtful look before giving a cheerful chirp. Hilda grinned and registered the name in her Pokédex. Professor Juniper told the three to meet her on Route 1, which was north of Nuvema. Cheren and Bianca quickly recalled their Pokémon and raced out the door before Hilda could register what Juniper said. She blinked and picked up Nepta. The Pokémon gave her a confused look.

"You want to know why I'm not putting you in your Poké-ball?" She guessed.

"Sha," Nepta said in a positive tone.

"I don't see the point on keeping you in there 24/7," She replied, "I want Pokémon to be my friends, not tools for battle."

She pushed open the door that led to the outside and accidentally ran straight into her mother. Nepta squealed as she was almost dropped.

"Ah! There you are!" Her mother said, "Did getting you Dex take longer than the others did?"

"No. Nepta - wait, how did you know we were getting Pokédexes?" Hilda asked.

"It wasn't the Professor that came up with this idea. Mellie, Miril and I had plan this for a while," she replied. "Anyway, I wanted to give you some things before you head out."

She handed Hilda a folded up map of Unova, which was a little out of date. Some of the cities had different names and the paper was a little faded. The second item Hilda was a little hesitant to take.

"Are you sure about this, Mom?" Hilda asked. "I mean, I enjoy practicing, but this is-"

"I expect to practice at least every other day," her mother said, cutting her off. "And I will know if you are being lazy."

Hilda gave her a nervous grin and took the slim carrier that had been under her bed earlier. After swinging it over her shoulder, her mother gave her bone crushing hug. Hilda hugged her back, knowing that it would be the last one for a while. After a final goodbye, she met up with Bianca and Cheren.

"Finally," Cheren sighed.

"What took you so long?" Bianca said.

"Just Mom stuff," Hilda replied, "So are we still doing it?"

"You bet!" Bianca shouted, linking her arms with them.

Hilda laughed while Cheren rolled his eyes, but his smile betrayed him. They walked together into Route 1. They took their first steps of their journey.


End file.
